About us

About the team

We are an interdisciplinary team working on the history of natural heritage sites in Germany. We investigate how landscapes and land use have changed during the past 150 years. On this basis, we want to better understand the current status of the areas and to create support for decisions on future sustainable development.

Research concept

Our research is divided into three subprojects. In her Master’s thesis, Maria Pleger investigated how three generations experience nature in their neighborhood. In another master’s thesis, Daniel Hernandez used historical maps and satellite imagery to look at how regulatory ecosystem services have evolved on natural heritage sites. And in a third project, funded by the German Environmental Foundation (DBU), a team of historians, geographers, landscape planners and biologists captured how the historical evolution of ecosystem services is related to land-use change.

Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life – not only species diversity but also genetic diversity, diversity of functions, interactions and ecosystems. We know that our actions dramatically change this diversity: species become extinct, genetic information and entire ecosystems are lost. At the same time, we know little about the extent of these changes, the underlying processes and consequences for humanity.